Variety (February 1957)

10 Mexico City'^ New -Class" ' ' CdutlAutd Yrom* pace 2 ssssssssssssssssm dorf-Astorla and is of the same Swiss school of hoteliers to which Hilton is partial. Gerald Sill, also ex-Waldorf, is Broglie’s aide, and a vexy savvy Mexican-American p.r. gal, Irene Buchanan, not only knows her stuff iti re the Yank VIPs whom Hilton is attracting, but has also impressed herself with the local press. . Pepe Romero, columnist of the Mexico City News, only Englishlanguage paper (reportedly 19,000 circulation), long renowned for makiiig the Hotel Del Prado as his unofficial “headquarters," much as Winchejl used to do at the Stork in former days, seems to have gravitated to the Continental Hil¬ ton for like purpose. Bug Phobia The long conditioned mental hazard of Americans against the Mexican water, fresh vegetables, etc., is something with which the Mexican Tourist Bui*eau should come to grips in an affirmative cam¬ paign. The fear of using ice in drinks, the caution with bottled water for everything including brushing-the-teeth, the knowledge that the vegetation is hazardous, are basics which militate against complete and carefree enjoyment. In actuality the water is boiled and, in the metropolis itself, the hazard is at a minimum. In Aca¬ pulco, as is detailed below, there is greater risk. The prices ire still right al¬ though topflight hotels charge $28 a suite which compares to any ma¬ jor U. S. hotel, and the tipping in the flrstclass spots compares with anything in New York or Paris. For that kind of tourist trade the price is the least; the prime hurdle, however, is the fear of the “tourista" tummy ache. Even the 7,800feet altitude of the capital doesn’t bother as much as some might ex¬ pect. It tends to tire one quicker, and one doesn't drink as much. In fact beer seems to be the No. 1 quencher, and incidentally Mexi¬ can beer is excellent. $4 Couvcrt — Ouch! The convert gimmick in niteries, however, is something which the cafes and hotels might also recon¬ sider. A $4 (American) convert for Yma Sumac in the Reforma Hotel’s Club Chanteclair is kinda fancy. Americans don’t mind the subter¬ fuge of hidden charges via minimums, or upped prices on drinks and food, but the cover charge in the American nitery scene went out of style with Prohibition. (Incidentally, the word American is used loosely here. Even “norte Americanos’’ is erroneous because the Mexicans are proud that they, too, are North Americans. They are as sensitive to that as San Franciscans are to Frisco. Usage of U. S. or “the States’’ is safest). U. S.-Figured Prices As with the Hilton Istanbul in Turkey and the Castellana Hilton in Madrid, the combination of Yank catering methods and Ameri¬ can airlines are the key to tourist influx. In this connection, seem¬ ingly the newly coined “Hilton Ho¬ tels round the world" achieves a quasi diplomatic and goodwill function that goes beyond the dollars-and-local-currency level. (Hfltog manages hostels usually fi¬ nanced by local interests; charges Yank prices; and achieves a profit margin that must be a revelation to local capital, which still pays off for services, provisions, taxes and the like, on local standards, but pockets a profit of American kingsize proportions.) American Airlines has been smart in keying itself to this, even though Air France alone has the direct-flight franchise from New York. In that respect, it’s some¬ times academic since the French planes come overseas and, if the weather throws time schedules awry, there isn’t the same certain takeoff as with American, which originates from New York but does have to change planes in Dallas, paradoxically, the Reforma, which Is owned by Pan American inter¬ ests, doesn't benefit from any direct-froin-N. Y\ "Pah "Am flights, but is part of that airline’s farfliftig Latin American setup, and of course flies from here to other U. S. airports. The Continental Hilton was done by the saniiTciecorator who did the Beverly Hilton, BevHills, and he’s atoned for all the original mistakes of the BevHills spot.' This one Is not garish. Taste is the best. Rooms are highly attractive, all with radio and tv outlets. 'Tele¬ vision in rooms has little appeal locally (1) because programming is still elementary and (2), where Las Vegas tabus ’em in the plush hotels because they want to get people downstairs to gamble, theory here is that tourists don’t come to Mex¬ ico .to stay upstairs and watoh video. The Continental Hilton will need sti'onger attractions once the nov¬ elty of the new hostelry, which is now a natural attraction, wears off. Jeri Southern, was only a mild opener. The 15-story high Belve¬ dere Roof, with its commanding panoramic view of Mexico City, now relies on Vicente Garrido or¬ chestra and the Copacabana Quin¬ tet, both from Rio de Janeiro, and while okay for the dansapation do not constitute the necessary draw as, for instance, when Lena Horne comes into the Reforma later in the spring following Yma Sumac. The hotel’s Belvedere Bar, where Chivas Regal scotch is 20 pesos (or $1.60 U.S., a copy), as against 13 pesos ($1.04 in the lobby bar), is also an automatic draw; (1), for its “top-of-the-Mark" atmosphere, and, (2), one could sneak a dance or two, hence the upped scale, being adjacent to the main rooftop res¬ taurant. There is also a Cub Room adjunct called “La Joya” where Malu Gatica is hostess and makes with the guitar, and songs. Guitars and Fiddles Guitars and violins are the at¬ mospheric rage. Former is under¬ standable but somehow the violins are associated more with the Paris fiddle spots, but they’re done in the same manner, and both for lunch and dinner. Because of the altitude, lunch is the big meal for many, from 1-5, which means from 2 or 2:30 until 4-4:30 as a practical thing. The dinner meal* is lighter for reasons of health because the altitude slows ^digestion, hence may retard slum¬ ber. Bill O’Dwyer may not have any more official billing as U.S. Am¬ bassador to Mexico but his pent¬ house lawoffice at No. 1 Reforma and his penthouse atop the inti¬ mate Hotel Prince off the Paseo Reforma, right back of the Hotel Barmer* (that unique Swiss-managed intimate hostelry which is re¬ nowned for its automatic valeting; they unpack you, hang up your clothes, press what needs pressing, repack you upon departure, etc.), is the unofficial HQ for all Amer¬ ican VIPs and otherwise. And at the Normandia, his favorite dining haunt, he is partial to Viennese pianist Oscar whose Broadway musicomedy medleys seem made to order for ex-mayor of N.Y., now in thriving law practice with Oscar Bernstein. The Hotel Prince management is building O’Dwyer an even larger penthouse since he is a prolific host. A Hungarian chef, formerly attached to the American Embassy in Mex¬ ico City, now whips up the fancy groceries for O’Dwyer’s at-home shindigs. Offb.eat Niteries A top offbeat spot is El Burro where Nino Mondejar, the reputed creator of the cha-cha-cha, is more the attraction than the nondescript floorshow. Latter, however, is not bad considering (1) this might be compared to a B-grade West 52d St. spot and (2) the minimum charge is two drinks per person, averaging under $1 a drink, whether beer or tequilla, native gin or native cognac. But Monde¬ jar’s music is undeniable. He rates “discovery" and could have the im¬ pact as “creator of the cha-cha," in the same idiom that Perez Prado, the only other Mexican ex¬ citement in recent show biz his¬ tory, had with the mambo. A few spots like El Burro and Tomma Jean’s rock ’n’ roll joint (43 Sullivan St.), where lammisterfrom-Harlem Max Cooper whistles and slaps the bass is the attraction, are good tourist contrasts to the plush eateries and the natural his¬ torical lore which abounds all over the Mexican terrain. The person¬ able colored kid, about 19, cuts quite a touch with his Dixie jazz in this offbeat bistro. Rock 'n' Roll Here, Too The Mexico radios pick up San Antonio, Houston and other border U, S. stations with result that Presley, rock ’n’ roll, James Dean and kindred influences are parallel among the south-of-the-border ju¬ venile set. They’re strong for base¬ ball but rugby and soccer is their brand of football. The mammoth 150,000-capacity Olympic Stadium Vedn^ay» gOy 1957 in the new, Univewlty City,* In the euburbB of the capital, was the site of the PanAmerican games but the hopes of an Olympiad, for which the setting is ideal geograph¬ ically, is impossible realistically be¬ cause of the high altitude. The Pan Am games saw the sprinters et al keeling over becaitse of the rarification. Incidentally the Aleman-built New University City ($6,000,000 cost and looks twice that) is (1) the greatest in the world and (2) easily a permanent monument to Mexican culture ' and Aleman’s vis¬ ion (despite any snide footnote lo¬ cal cracks). The “carpas," side street tent shows under makeshift lean-tos — vaudeville under canvas, with an outdoor flavor, meaning accent on acrobats and panto acts — are a fast disappearing national custom. But they’re still around and worth fer¬ reting out. They’re on contsant grind to a 20c admission. The “Street of the Guadalajara" is one of the must sights, also part of the inside-stuff tourist-gawking. It’s in the red-light district (which, incidentally, is not legalized but obviously tolerated) but that’s nierely a happenstance of geog¬ raphy, The Guadalajara are stroll¬ ing street singers, in their colorful scrapes, and for about $3 a night” you hire a gang of six to 10 of ’em to serenade you with the Mexican hit-parade folksongs, while your party is comfortably seated in the car. Part of the act is a big bar¬ gaining deal with the maestro who, as you come down from a perhaps original asking price of $5, adds oh two and three ext^a musicians — the average group becomes 10 trou¬ badours — who make like road com¬ pany El Chico (N. Y.) troupes. It’s a windup spot, parked in your car, and limited to that one “Street of the Guadalajara’’ which, incidental¬ ly, is further made inaccessible by wrong-way traffic detouring, but regardless always sees SRO in that one narrow street. It’s completely safe, well-policed, but a local should be your guide. Vaudeville In company with Harry T. Hambleton, ex-British diplomatic serv¬ ice and now head-man for Pepsi¬ Cola, and Lalo Sanchez Rivero, whose Publlcidad Interamericana is the top Latin American public relations setup (plenty of big busi¬ ness below the Rio Grande utilizes this kind of press relations) a trip to the Lirico, one of the two or three variety theatres in Mexico City, is an experience. For a house that boasts top inter¬ national vaudeville talent — Cantiflas plays here, among others — it’s a fleabag vauder compared to the smallest of smalltime nabe stand¬ ards, as regards appointments and hygienic surroundings. But some¬ how these are secondary factors to the vaude fans. Donna Behar, who played the Persian Room of the Hotel Plaza, N, Y., headlined. She’s ft Lebanese thrush of good voice and the “built" to which the Orien¬ tals are supposedly partial — a little on the heft side. In Oriental trap¬ pings and motif the accompanying cooch stuff is both atmospheric and au naturel. A Mexican video troupe headed by Verdaguer, Pompin & Nacho in a triangular card “game" blackout of obvious burleycue genre titled “Canasta," was overextended but the robust “husband" was a funny gent. The Chelo LaRue Ballet and I Los Churumbeles de Espana, a road company “Kids From Spain" (Los Chovales de Espagna) — a. pal¬ pable copy act — ^were the “artistic contributions.” Act features Mario Rey, Joselito Cruz and Ballerina Marina Imperio. Bright deucer was Mimi Paco Davilo whose take¬ offs on Tito Guizar, Augustin Lara, Pedro Vargas and kindred Latin faves obviously whammed ’em. He has authority and good horizons for all his smalltime wardrobe and manner. He is announced as “the genius of 1,000 voices" and works and looks like a combination of Sammy Davis Jr. and Prof. Irwin Corey. Picture Business Picture business is like this in Mexico City: regardless of the at¬ traction the top is four pesos (32c) by law. The local distribution heads gnash at this. Allen M. Noye, savvy gerente for 20th Century-Fox Films de Mexico, can’t see the logic of it and is spearheading a move to tilt it at least to six pesos I (48c). Metro’s gerente, Carlos Niebla, however, told Morton Spring and Samuel Goldwyn that “Guys and Dolls" was just another picture to the Mexican government and there’s no tucR" thing as upped prices ^or. “specIaP pictui^' ‘•G&D’» ' did OK and “Trapeze" (UA) la doing boffo right’ now*. Metro’s topper here points to what tv has done to the picture business in the States and observes that “maybe despite ourselves the Mexican government is doing us a favor because the popular price of four pesos, or 32c, does perpetuate the family filmgoing habit, so that as and wl^n tv gets really hot here it will maintain the same momen¬ tum. Don’t forget', the American distributors here remit $1,000,000 in hard dollars to their homeoffices, and that’s pretty good for a little country like this." Niebla concedes that a tilt to a 5-pesos admission wouldn’t be bad but he feels that the six pesos (48c) could generally effect the now bullish boxoffice business. For all their predilections to music the Mexican picture public just doesn’t understand filmusicals. They laugh at them. “Guys and Dolls" had to be played straight. Metro’s “Meet Me in Las. Vegas" and 26th-Fox’s “The King and I" were dismal flops. Noye cut out the songs from “King and'^I" be¬ cause they just didn’t dig the idea of Yul Brynner serenading. Deb¬ orah Kerr and vice versa. Variety Club The Variety Club of Mexico, In¬ cidentally, just laid the corner¬ stone of a $250,000 asylum for needy children — it has 150G in the till and is pitching for the addi¬ tional $100,000. Noye is president of VC here, and he had 20th-Fox prexy Spyros-Skouras officiate the cornerstone ceremony. Columbia and RKO with their bilinguals and release of Mex-made pix do wdl. ' Problem now is Mike Todd-AO’s “Around the World in 80 Days," obviously a roadshow picture of special size, and obviously of spe¬ cial native appeal because of the locally beloved Cantlnflas. He’s like Maurice Chevalier to . the French, Gracie Fields to the British, Sir Harry Lauder to the Scots — ^but more so. Producer Jack Gellman, who is co-partnered with Santiago Reach! and Cantinflas in native produc ! tion, is among the realistic show¬ men to recognize that, if nothing else, for the first time an Ameri¬ can film producer has made a Mex¬ ican idol an international com¬ modity. (This, again, follows the Hollywood pattern; not until global exposure in Yank films did Cheva¬ lier have the broad appeal beyond his native environs). Incidentally, the Gellman house in the Polanco sector — the com¬ bination of Beverly Hills, Bel AJr and Holmby Hills of Mexico City-^ is an extraordinary private resi¬ dence. It compares most favorably with any Hollywood tycoon and, additionally, houses an art gallery of private museum proportions. It marks some 30 years of worldwide collecting of European and New World masters, including some ex¬ traordinary ' items which Natasha (Mrs. Jack) Gellman has picked up in Inca, Indian and Aztec antiques. They recently joined a FrancoAmerican scientific expedition into new-found Inca territory, so acute is their Interest in the history and lore of their adopted country. > When the Nazi wave chased them from their Paris base, Gell¬ man, who had been ijelling Mexi¬ can and Spanish films in France, decided to settle here. At this writ¬ ing he is awaiting a momentous event as regards his near-80 mother whom he hasn’t seen for 30 years. News of the granting of a Russian passport appears imminent and they are poised to fly to Helsinki to meet her in Finland once she is permitted to depart Moscow. Powerful Azearragas The Churubusco Studios, which are owned by the powerful Emilio Azearraga family (who control tv and radio and are prominent in other Industries along with films, legit and broadcasting), may change hands. A deal is cooking for their disposition. It’s a costly operation for the Azearragas. Right now Emilio Jr. is running the show. He is about 27 and has seasoned aides of his father’s regime. Latter is said to prefer the low-level Cuernavaca and/or Acapulco environs; the 7,800-feet high Mexico City is a slower-downer for . many norte Americanos. Young Azearraga, with a strong assist in Jose D. (Pepe) Camacho, is bearing down on the broadcasting phase. Radio is still boffo. They have a $9 General Electric cuffo radio giveaway stunt that glues 65% listenership. It’s the lucky-name from the jjhone book^nd/or direc¬ tory gimmick. and it^gpparently cements constant* round-the-clock listening. Their proof, is that 90% of the names called pick up the cuffo radios within 48 hours after announced, Azearraga is a frequent U.S. vis¬ itor, veering more to Hollywood of late now that vidpix is such an important phase. He seems partial to MCA-TV and Ziv product and has an avid Interest in tradepaper information on . new shows— natu¬ rally via Varjew, where else? *Hoppy' and Augustin Lara “Hopalong" and the like are played in English with Spanish titles. There ar4' the usual local panel, quiz and kindred shows. Augustin Lara, No,. 1 Latin Ameri¬ can composer and especially a local idol as “j;he Ikying Berlin of Mexico," has his oWn ^tv-radio pro¬ grams, with his own batid. Lara is the songsmith who is something of a legend, also, for his amatory ex¬ ploits, and has been frequently in the public prints as a peripetatic talent— which Is fancy talk for a songsmith on the lam, because of some jealous lover or narrowniinded husband. Lara’s medley (“Noche de Ronde,” “Granada," etc.) is part of the international hit parade. Incidentally, he has never been to. Spain yet his “Gran¬ ada," believed by hiost to originate from the Iberian peninsula, is a quasi-official anthem In that 'Span¬ ish province.! Acapulco This Pacific Oceaii resort whose prime attraction is the ideal yearround weather could become a Juan-les-Pins or St. Tropez of the Western Hemisphere. Afid if the idea of okaying gambling— the gov¬ ernment’s excuse would be to raise funds to improve the highway from Tiajuana south to Acapulco — ^were ever okayed it would be the Monte Carlo-Cannes this sidd* of the At¬ lantic. It has much to offer, save for the cuisine. Swiss . bandleader-turned-hoteller Ted Stauffer, also renowned for his marriages to glamor kidslike Hedy Lamarr, has a savvy premise; put the hotels on a competitive cuisine basis. For one thing, the American-plan hostelries are academic in a large measure since, apart from the brunch-and-sunning at the homebase hotel, tourists prefer to wan¬ der away from where they sleep and dine-out elsewhere. This is a hazardous adventure, under exist¬ ing .circumstances; the theory be¬ ing that, at least as a house-guest, you can demand whatever might be the better grade of groceries. Stauffer, who is inordinately proud of an LP album he just wax¬ ed for the Discos Columbia de Mexico, titled “A Night In Aca¬ pulco"— a musical Cook’s Tour of the high spots of this resort — has the top nitery draw at his La Perla nitery. This is the cliff side bistro from whence the diving boys, with flaming torches to' guide their pre¬ cipitous dive into the rockbound Pacific below, do a twice-nightly stint that's a must for all tourists. Incidentally, Manuel S. (Mike) Kessler, who runs Discos Colum¬ bia, releases the Mex-made wax works in the U.S. through a distrib other than the parent Columbia, since they’re geared to a special Latin market. Kessler apparently doesn’t think enough of the “Night In Acapulco" (Stauffer) album to warrant U.S. distribution. Stauffer’s former apartment un¬ derneath El Mirador Hotel, of which La Perla nitery is a part, is now a VIP retreat for his friends. It’s also the repository of the wine cellar and makes for an atmos¬ pheric vantage point. As with many Mexico City niter¬ ies, the couvert charge bit goes on here, too— 1214 pesos ($1) — which may be'^art of the showmanship that needs reexamination. Even the hotels slap on a 20pesos couvert ($1.60) for diners, as was the case of the Ismael Diaz band at the Club de Pesca (Fishing Club) where your correspondent bivouaced. The Diaz kiddies cut quite a dansapation touch at the Club Tropicana, in the Club de Pesca. It was also noted that on the bilingual card, the^Spanish por¬ tion had the “cover charge 20 pesos" blacked out, an apparent concession to the locals. Stauffer, incidentally, displays this table card: “La Perla has fix¬ ed prices authorized by Tourist Dep. If you prove these have been altered we shall gladly adjust your bills and make you a present of a bottle of imported champagne. The Management." It’s in Span¬ ish and English, and somehow is a bilingual confesrion of needless somethipg-or-other.